(11 Feb 1997) Natural Sound
Rio's Carnival season wound up Monday.
Eight more samba schools put on the extravagant displays in a bid to become this year's champion.
It was the last night of the annual spectacular dusk to dawn parades.
It was the night for the special groups at Rio's annual extravaganza.
Monday was the climax when the elite of Rio's many samba schools
paraded down the 530-meter (1,600-foot) long sambadrome.
Each school is made up of 16 groups which consist of five-thousand musicians and dancers from the city's shantytowns.
One school had 4 thousand dancers taking part in the evenings parade.
And while they are delighting the crowd - they're also competing fiercely before a panel of judges to be this year's carnival champions.
More than 70,000 spectators crammed into the stands to see the "special group" schools take over the sambadrome stadium.
Sometimes millions of dollars are spent by the samba schools on their flashy costumes, luxurious floats and original music.
And this year was extra special as Rio went out to impress in a bid for the 2004 Olympic Games.
Dancers and the audience alike were there to show the world how to party, party, party.
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